Field of the Invention
The invention lies in the field of conveying and sorting technology, and relates to a collecting device for a conveyor for collecting discrete items (sometimes called piece goods) that are delivered from a conveyor to a delivery location. The invention moreover relates to a conveying facility with a conveyor for conveying discrete items and with a collecting device, as well as to a method for operating the collecting device.
Description of Related Art
Conveyors with collecting devices, in particular sorting facilities, serve for sorting discrete items conveyed along a conveying path, by way of delivery of the discrete items to different delivery locations arranged along the conveying path, according to defined criteria such as e.g. product uniformity. For this, the discrete items are delivered from the conveyor to collecting devices at the respective delivery locations, in a targeted manner via a control. The discrete items are thereby conveyed from the delivery locations to a collecting region of the collecting devices. The conveying between the delivery location and the collecting region usually is effected in an unguided and passive manner.
Passive conveying means that the discrete items are conveyed solely by their kinetic energy given to them by the conveyor, and/or by way of gravitational assistance. In other words, no actively driven conveying elements conveying the discrete items are provided. Thus, for example, it is known to deliver the discrete items from the delivery location into the collecting region by way of chutes, which is to say slides.
The unguided conveying of the discrete items from the delivery location to the collecting region means that the speed and, as the case may be, also the exact movement path of the discrete items cannot be controlled.
Sensitive discrete items, such as, e.g., bottles, should now also be able to processed in sorting facilities with collecting devices of the type mentioned above. Conventional collecting devices, however, have the disadvantage that the sensitive discrete items can hit one another and become damaged when being conveyed from the delivery location into the collecting region in an unguided, which is to say uncontrolled, manner. Moreover, it is also possible for unguided discrete items to hit other discrete items in the collecting region on entering into this collecting region, and likewise becoming damaged. Damage to sensitive discrete items, which are conveyed in an unguided manner, can also occur when these hit parts of the collecting device.
A further disadvantage lies in the fact that discrete items, which are not present in a transport packaging, but are present in the sales packaging or are without any packaging, can assume traces of use in the collecting device due to them hitting other discrete items or parts of the collecting device, and can lose their brand-new appearance due to this, even if they are still as good as new.
Sensitive sales packaging, in which the products are packaged can also be damaged or obtain traces of use due to such collisions. This leads to the products no longer being able to be sold at all or no longer being able to be sold as being new.